joining me now is congresswoman gwen moore, democrat from wisconsin. she was a staunch supporter of rice amid the republican criticism. and joan walsh, editor at large of salon.com and an msnbc political analyst. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. >> congresswoman, what is your reaction to ambassador rice's announcement? >> i can tell you, i'm saddened. i'm enraged. this was always a fabricated, trumped up allegation. this, you know, not very briegt, there's not enough time on this program to walk through her tremendous accomplishments over the last 20 years in public service. i think that the republicans see an opportunity to have senator kerry appointed as secretary of state. and be able to rup a special election off cycle to be able to -- to win john kerry's seet in massachusetts. as you might remember, president obama sort of blew romney away in massachusetts. 60% to about 39%. and it was a little bit closer with the elizabeth, warren brown race. 63% to maybe about 43%. so all throughout